Bishop Danilo Ulep of the Batanes prelature said he sent a team to Itbayat, the hardest-hit town, to assess the situation, uacnews.com reported.

"Right now, all we are accepting is financial assistance because other needs like food, water, medicines, etc. are being addressed by the government," Bishop Ulep said.

Caritas Philippines, the church's aid and development agency, launched a "solidarity appeal" for the province.

Authorities declared a "state of calamity" in the town of Itbayat, where centuries-old churches, schools, houses and other buildings were demolished by two major earthquakes. At least eight died, 63 were injured and one person was reported missing.

The government's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recorded 180 aftershocks by July 28.

"The entire island was shaken so I'm under the impression that everybody is affected," Mark Timbal, council spokesman, said.

He said residents have been advised not to enter buildings due to the risk of collapse, adding that temporary shelters have been established for residents.

Citing initial reports from the affect area, Timbal said 15 houses, two schools, two health facilities, and a church were severely damaged by the temblors and that other substantial damage was reported.

Authorities said about 3,000 people were affected.

The council said transporting relief goods to Itbayat has been the "main challenge." Located on the northern tip of the Philippines, it can only be reached by boat. The town's airport can only handle small aircraft. Helicopters have to be used to airlift supplies.

Ricardo Jalad of the government's disaster response office said there are enough food supplies, "but the challenge is transportation."

Church leaders, meanwhile, warned against scammers out to take advantage of people who need help.

Father Ronaldo Manabat, vice chancellor of the prelature, cautioned the public against a Facebook account using the name of Bishop Ulep.

He said someone behind the "fake account" is raising money to supposedly help earthquake victims in Itbayat. The prelature also urged the public to watch out for false charities, especially using the name of the local church.

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine church leaders said the filing of sedition charges against four Catholic bishops, three priests, and several government critics are "beyond belief."

In mid-July, the police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group filed charges of inciting sedition, cyber libel, libel and obstruction of justice against more than 40 people, including the country's vice president and 35 members of the opposition.

Ucanews.com reported the complaint said they conspired to spread "false information" against the family of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and administration officials. It also said they were looking to "agitate the general population into staging mass protests with the possibility of bringing down the president."

"I am very saddened by this news and am greatly disturbed by this development," said Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. "That they are accused of sedition and other criminal complaints is for me beyond belief."

The archbishop said he knows the church leaders and "they are bishops whose sincerity, decency, respectfulness and love for our country and our people are beyond doubt."

"Some of us may feel ill at ease with the way they made known their opinions. But again, I say this: I cannot bring myself to believe that these bishops were involved in seditious activities," he said.

He said he prayed that those involved in the case would be guided by "fairness and truth."

The four bishops were Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, retired Bishop Teodoro Bacani of Novaliches, and Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan.

The priests were Divine Word Father Flaviano Villanueva, Jesuit Father Albert Alejo and Father Robert Reyes.

Father Reyes said the charges were "a desperate move to suppress dissent."

"It's a pathetic attempt to distract people from the serious issue of the shift to totalitarianism," he said, adding that it could be "a wake-up call for the undecided and the indifferent."

Others said the charges were designed to silence Duterte's critics.

"The move is obviously meant to scare the hell out of these churchmen and eventually silence them," said Father Jerome Secillano, chairman of the public affairs office of the bishops' conference.

He said what the bishops and priests did was call on the government to be more circumspect and prudent in their actions, ucanews reported.

"They are neither fighting the government nor Duterte. What they are against are the repressive policies that put so much burden on the poor and on those who oppose them," said Father Secillano.

"I assure you, they're doing things not for personal gain or selfish interests, but for the sake of those who cannot fight for their rights," he added.

The Couples for Christ Foundation for Life, an influential lay organization, assured the church leaders of their support.

"You do not work alone in this, dear bishops," said a group statement released on July 20. "We encourage them to continue their courageous campaign in journeying with all Filipinos for truth and justice.

"Speaking the truth and fighting for the basic human rights of every Filipino is not sedition," said the group. "It is being faithful to the teachings of Christ and the church."

The charges stem from the release of a video that went viral on several social media platforms early this year that linked Duterte and his family to the illegal drug trade.

A man named Peter Joemel Advincula claimed on the video and at a media briefing that Duterte's son, Paolo Duterte, and presidential aide Bong Go were involved in drug syndicates.

Weeks later, however, he was presented at a news conference by the Philippine National Police; at that time he claimed Vice President Leni Robredo, opposition members and several church people were behind a plot against the president.

MANILA, Philippines -- Catholic bishops in the Philippines criticized "the continuing destruction of our common home" and called for "ecological conversion" amid "climate emergency."

The Philippine bishops' news service, Cbcpnews.net, reported on a nine-page pastoral letter on the environment, released July 16. The report said the first half of the letter offers a reflection on the state of the environment, and the second half recommends concrete ecological actions.

"Given the high rate of poverty in the Philippines, the need to manage the environment is paramount. Poverty and environmental degradation mutually reinforce each other," Cbcpnews.net reported the letter as saying.

The letter outlines the issues facing the country, among them the irresponsible mining, the building of dams, and the growing dependence on fossil fuel-based energy, such as coal. Several studies have shown that the Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Cbcpnews.net said.

The letter was released after the bishops' recent plenary assembly in Manila as way of helping put into action Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home.

The bishops agreed not to allow the financial resources of Catholic institutions to be invested in favor of coal-fired power plants and mining companies, Cbcpnews.net reported.

"Divestment from such investment portfolios must be encouraged," they stressed.

They also announced the creation of an "ecology desk" in all diocesan social action centers that would make ecology a special concern.

"We have the moral imperative to act together decisively in order to save our common home. This is our Christian duty and responsibility," they said.

MANILA, Philippines - Church leaders across Asia have expressed alarm over threats to press freedom amid reports of increasing attacks and intimidation of journalists, resulting in growing levels of self-censorship.

Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it takes a "lot of courage" to work as a journalist these days amid the threat of censorship, intimidation and even violence.

In its annual World Press Freedom Index covering 180 countries, the organization noted that Asian governments have been using laws to cultivate an atmosphere of fear among journalists, ucanews.com reported.

In the Philippines, where several journalists have been killed in recent years, the reporters group said persecution of media practitioners was accompanied by online harassment campaigns.

Church leaders, critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, described the press freedom and freedom of information situation as "precarious."

"The government is not tolerant of those who criticize it," said Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manilla. He said "trolls" have been employed to frighten and threaten people "who express ideas contrary to what the government presents."

A troll in internet slang is a person who quarrels or upsets people online to distract and sow discord.

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, head of the Philippine bishops' Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, said Philippine press freedom is "under threat and being undermined."

"There is a tendency and trend to suppress," he said, calling for vigilance "to protect and promote (press freedom), especially against proliferation, even from higher ups, or fake news."

Duterte's government, however, maintained the country remains "the freest if not one of the freest" in the region.

"Press freedom remains vibrant in the Philippines, now it’s protected," said Joel Egco, head of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

In India, Bishop Salvadore Lobo of Baruipar, who works with the Office for Social Communication of the country's Catholic bishops' conference, said journalists face troubling challenges. Even so, he added, they should not be restrained from reporting the truth.

Bishop Henry D'Souza of Bellary, India, of the same office, expressed regret over what he described as "subtle efforts" to erode press freedom in India.

Across the country, violence against journalists has occurred with relative impunity. In 2018, at least six journalists were reported killed while on the job. Overall, more than 70 have been killed in India in the past 24 years.

Attacks against journalists by supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party also have increased in the run-up to this year's elections.

Reports from international media watchdogs also noted that coordinated hate campaigns against Asian journalists on social media have become "alarming."

In neighboring Bangladesh, Father Augustine Bulbul Rebeiro, secretary of the Social Communication Commission of the bishops' conference of Bangladesh, said, "freedom of expression is suffering from a culture of self-censorship."

He said the country's media are "under indirect but strong pressure" and as a result, journalists play it safe because they also want to "enjoy (the) safety and security of life."

Bangladesh is ranked 150th in the Press Freedom Index. It cited a crackdown on journalists by the increasingly authoritarian ruling party, the Awami League, which has been in power since 2008.

Since 1992, 21 journalists have been murdered in Bangladesh.

Shakhawat Hossain, president of Dhaka Reporters' Unity, however, said media freedom in Bangladesh "is much better than India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka."

"I don’t think press freedom in Bangladesh is bad compared to neighboring countries," he said, adding that as a journalist, "I can express my opinion or write more or less freely."

Reporting in Pakistan, especially about religion, has become a "risky business" in recent years.

Iqbal Khattak, director of the media watchdog organization Freedom Network, said "peer pressure" and fear of attacks have resulted in self-imposed censorship among journalists. He cited the case of two journalists in Lahore who sought asylum abroad after reporting on religious minorities.

He told ucanews.com that newsrooms have no policy on covering the rights of minority groups or promoting pluralism.

Father Qaiser Feroz, executive secretary of the Social Communication Commission of the Pakistan bishops' conference, admitted that freedom of expression in Pakistan is "largely limited."

"(Journalists) deserve more respect," he said. He pointed to the need to focus on reporting issues affecting religious minorities.

"Our voices are suppressed especially in news relating to church attacks," he said.

The World Press Freedom Index reported that Pakistan's military has stepped up harassing the media, especially prior to last year's general election.

Attacks on journalists also have risen in the last year in Indonesia, according to the country's Alliance of Independent Journalists. The organization reported at least 64 attacks in 2018 compared with 60 the previous year.

The incidents included physical assault, beatings, damage to equipment, ban on coverage, threats and charges being filed in court.

Ferdinandus Setu, spokesman of the Church's Communication and Information Ministry in Jakarta, said one problem facing the Indonesian press is the lack of certification of many journalists.

He urged media agencies and journalists to enhance their capabilities through certification.

An explosive letter from Development and Peace partners in the Philippines protesting a year-long review of the Canadian agency’s international partnerships is misguided and unhelpful, said Development and Peace deputy executive director Romain Duguay.

Although the letter seems intent on supporting D&P, “it has the counter-effect of what they want to do,” said Duguay.

Fifty-two of Development and Peace’s (D&P) 180 partnerships have been under review since last year by a committee from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and D&P’s national council. At issue is whether these partners are in conflict with Catholic social teaching on issues like abortion.

Signed by 11 of D&P’s Filipino partners, including the executive secretary of Caritas Philippines, the April 3 letter calls on Canada’s bishops and D&P’s national council “to repudiate those who use their political ideologies to defame Development and Peace and ourselves and whip up hatred, division or indifference.”

“Someone wants us to have a clash with the CCCB,” Duguay said in a phone call from Montreal. “There’s definitely someone who doesn’t understand the situation right now — (which) is that if the CCCB leaves the table, there’s no more D&P.

“We understand the intention. We thank them for the intention. From D&P, of course we are listening to them, we understand their concern. But that gesture is not going to help. If they want to help, then just bring us examples of what our partners are doing so we can clarify the situation.”

Since late 2017, D&P has been fighting off rumours and social media claims that it partners with organizers in Latin America, Africa and Asia that promote abortion, contraception and gay marriage. Beginning in January 2018 the Catholic development agency began a review, the second in five years, of its partnerships. In March of 2018, CCCB staff shared preliminary results of the review, based largely on Internet searches, with bishops at the annual meeting of the Assembly of Western Catholic Bishops.

Led by Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith, a dozen bishops subsequently decided to withhold Lenten collections from D&P until the investigation concluded. In August last year D&P staff submitted a 290-page report that narrowed the investigation to 52 partner organizations and provided point-by-point answers to accusations against the partners.

At the October plenary meeting of the CCCB, bishops sought further clarification and the 12 withholding bishops individually began to release funds with the understanding that no money would go to any of the 52 partners still under investigation.

A March 29 joint statement from D&P and the CCCB clarified that “no questions have been raised about any projects the (agency) is helping to fund.”

The seven-page letter from the Philippines, obtained by the Montreal-based Catholic news agency Presence, called the investigation “deeply unfair.”

“For a distant and anonymous committee with no knowledge of our circumstances, our lived experiences, or the challenges facing us, to make summary and unilateral judgments of us at a time of growing authoritarianism is deeply dangerous,” says the letter, sent to all Canadian bishops and members of D&P’s national council.

D&P and Caritas Philippines are both members of the worldwide Caritas network of Catholic charities.

Donors to any Caritas agency can be confident their money is supporting projects and programs consistent with Catholic teaching, said Caritas Internationalis secretary general Michel Roy.

“We are very clear that life is sacred and has to be respected from conception to natural death,” he said.

The partner review is headed for a final report at the end of May, said Duguay. The bishops and the development agency continue to guard the names and allegations against the 52 partners.

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MONTREAL - In a letter addressed to the Canadian bishops and the leaders of Development and Peace, prominent leaders of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and civil organizations criticized a moratorium on at least four Philippine associations suspected of "violating the social teachings of the Church."

The seven-page letter deplores that the investigation, conducted by an "opaque" committee that included staff of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Development and Peace, was surrounded by secrecy. The four Philippine partners affected by the moratorium have never been told why Development and Peace is withholding funds raised from its Share Lent campaign.

Philippine groups also have "no way to know the charges against them," said the signatories, upset that "the truth of the charges is determined by an opaque ad hoc committee."

"We regard this as deeply unfair and inconsistent with the partnership principles and practices to which D&P proudly declares itself adherent," said the letter, obtained by the French Canadian Catholic news agency Presence. Development and Peace's temporary moratorium, the letter added, is already affecting "peacebuilding, agrarian reform, urban shelter and community development work in the Philippines."

"For a distant and anonymous committee with no knowledge of our circumstances, our lived experiences, or the challenges facing us, to make summary and unilateral judgments of us at a time of growing authoritarianism is deeply dangerous," said the letter, noting that the Catholic Church has recently been threatened by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The April 3 letter was sent by email to Bishop Lionel Gendron, CCCB president, and Evelyne Beaudoin, president of the national council for Development and Peace. All members of the national council also received it, as well as all Canadian bishops. The letter was sent a few days ahead of April 7, when Canadian parishes were actively promoting the Share Lent Campaign.

Among the signatories to the Philippine letter were Fr. Edwin Gariguez, secretary-general of Caritas Philippines, and Redemptorist Fr. Leo Armada, chairman of the board of Francesco Inc., a consortium that recently inaugurated the Village of Pope Francis, where 1,300 survivors of 2013 Haiyan typhoon now live.

Caritas Philippines and Development and Peace are members of the international Caritas network of Catholic charitable agencies.

On April 8, Development and Peace said it would not comment until the partner review process is completed. The organization has not yet communicated a clear deadline for this process.

The CCCB did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2018, information about Development and Peace partners prompted some Canadian bishops to withhold donations raised during the Share Lent campaign. Allegations that 52 of approximately 180 partners were not acting in accordance with Church teaching were made in an unreleased document called "2018 CCCB Research Findings on D&P Partners."

Development and Peace staff responded last fall in a 290-page document rejecting the vast majority of the allegations, except for five partners which needed a more in-depth review.

Most of the 52 partners are in Latin America (25) and Asia (15). Only when Development and Peace agreed to withhold donations to the 52 partners targeted by the allegations was it able to receive all the withheld funds (about $2 million). At the beginning of April 2019, the organization announced that the moratorium affecting the 52 organization would be maintained during the 2019 Share Lent campaign.

In March, the Jesuits in Canada expressed annoyance at a decision to suspend funding for two Jesuit-supported organizations in Honduras. In January, some 20 Canadian religious communities expressed dismay at a stalemate that, they maintained, penalizes "poor people" around the world.

Gloutnay is a reporter for Presence info, based in Montreal.

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Separate terrorist attacks in the past five months have killed 80 people as they worshipped in New Zealand mosques, an American synagogue and a Philippines cathedral. These are just three among hundreds of attacks on worshippers over the past decade.

Six people were killed 14 months ago in a Quebec City mosque attack. Bombs ignited at Coptic Catholic churches in Egypt and Catholic churches in Nigeria have killed dozens of worshippers, including priests at the altar. Countless churches have been levelled in Syria and Iraq. Six worshippers were murdered in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. Dozens have been killed at various Christian churches in the United States.

The March 15 massacre of 50 praying Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, illustrates again that hate is a trespasser that shows no regard for borders or faith affiliation. These deaths came seven weeks after 20 people were killed when two bombs were exploded in the Catholic cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Philippines city of Jolo.

For gunmen seeking Internet fame, fighting personal demons or promoting some twisted ideology, the prayerful, peaceful congregants who fill houses of worship are easy targets. By their nature, houses of God must be welcoming places open for all who arrive at their doors. The thought of metal detectors or bag searches is odious. But although it may be impossible to totally thwart the mass murderers, in addition to stricter gun laws, steps can be taken to make prayer spaces safer.

Following six murders in the Quebec mosque attack, Ottawa doubled a $5 million fund to help places of worship, community centres and religious schools pay for such security measures as cameras, gates, alarms and lighting. But the fund is just $10 million over five years, a drop in the bucket to defend religious worship, a constitutionally protected right.

With rates of hate crimes rising in Canada, and with worshippers worldwide becoming targets, government attention to places of public worship needs to increase. The existing modest security program should be expanded to provide more infrastructure spending as well as support for security training.

In addition to installing alarms and lights, a security plan would include government-sponsored instruction for imams, rabbis, priests and other religious leaders on how to minimize death and injury in an attack. This type of training already occurs in some American cities. Church leaders are hearing that, by being prepared, lives can be saved in the crucial minutes before police arrive. They learn the importance of planning escape routes, hiding places, first aid and, as a last resort, self defence.

Places of worship are sanctuaries of prayer and peace. In today’s world, however, it has become a critical challenge to protect praying communities. Everyone must be vigilant and civic and church leaders must work together to try to keep worshippers safe.

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Six years after the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the people of Tacloban, Philippines, are starting a new life thanks to Development and Peace - Caritas Canada.

A small Canadian delegation visited the city Feb. 10 to celebrate the inauguration ofPope Francis Village, a new housing compound for 566 survivor-families who lost their livelihood from the typhoon. The village also includes a small business area, a school and a chapel at the centre of the property.

Development and Peace (D&P), in partnership withCaritas Philippinesand other local partners, formally presented 263 land titles to victims and their families. Bishop Noël Simard from Valleyfield, Que., also led a ceremonial blessing of the homes.

“For us, it was amazing and an eyeopener to see the result of close to six years of work,” said Evelyne Beaudoin, president of D&P.

One of the new residents of Pope Francis Village was a fisherman who lived in a makeshift home on the shore with 22 other family members prior to the storm. Days before Typhoon Haiyan, he heard minimal reports about the storm that was coming. Typhoons are a regular occurrence during that time of the year.

He only had time to grab two of his younger children when the water hit, one child under each arm. They were the only family members who survived.

When the category 5 super typhoon hit on Nov. 8, 2013, Beaudoin said D&P immediately sprung into action. In addition to supporting humanitarian aid after the disaster, the organization quickly dispatched the organization’s Asian program officer Jess Agustin to set up a temporary office in the city. D&P was going to be there for both the short and the long haul, said Beaudoin.

D&P raised more than $12.8 million in donations with most of it eligible for matching by the Canadian government. The organization also received a $2.3 million federal grant for a joint project with its United States’ counterpart, Catholic Relief Services.

“We pulled together resources that we already had in the Philippines, because we’ve been working in the Philippines for many, many years,” said Beaudoin.

The city was largely destroyed by the storm that claimed more than 6,200 lives.

D&P program officer Agustin co-ordinated with Caritas Philippines, Catholic Relief Services and Church World Service to distribute aid and build 1,500 temporary homes. But with more than 900,000 families displaced by the storm, Beaudoin said they knew they had to look at a more long-term solution.

“We asked our long-time partner Urban Poor Associates to come and help communities defend their land rights against government evictions and remain near the city where they make their livelihoods,” said Beaudoin.

After two years working with the Philippines government, D&P and its partners purchased a 12-hectare property in January 2015, just five kilometres away from the city. The property would be called Pope Francis Village in commemoration of his papal visit to the city where he held a Mass for 30,000 people in front of the airport.

Before construction began in August, Agustin facilitated the formation of Pope Francis Village Home Owners Association, which became involved in every step of the development.

Residents were trained in construction, housing management, first aid, finance and advocacy.

“They also set up a new cinderblock factory and these cinderblocks are now renowned in the Philippines as the most solid, high-quality cinderblocks,” said Beaudoin.

Beaudoin said providing help to the typhoon victims is not enough to make lasting change in their lives. It is important that the community becomes the protagonists of their own change. The success of Pope Francis Village is a model of that, she said.

During inauguration day, Beaudoin and five other delegates visited various homes in the village. In one home, a grandmother was sitting on the floor with her three small grandchildren while the mother was cooking in the kitchen and the father was chatting with some neighbours outside.

“To see the peaceful and loving atmosphere in this home, that was very touching for us,” said Beaudoin. “It was sign of the success of Pope Francis Village because that was one of the very dear hopes of Canadians and Development and Peace was to bring peace to these people who suffered so much.”

Sr. Georgette Gregory, congregational leader of the Sisters of St. Joseph Toronto, was also part of the delegation that visited Pope Francis Village. She met a young woman who was eight months pregnant with her seventh child when the storm hit.

She had her two-year-old son in her arms when the tsunami swept their small home. She thought she and her two children were the only ones to survive until she was reunited with her husband and five other children a year and a half later.

“It was their second chance at life and they’re grabbing it and working with it. I was very impressed and very moved by the whole day,” she said.

Construction at Pope Francis Village continues as business areas and a chapel at the centre of the compound are being finished. About 40 houses are set to be finished by June.

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CALOOCAN, Philippines – A Catholic bishop in the Philippines said his government's controversial war on drugs is really a war against the country's poor.

"There is no war against illegal drugs, because the supply is not being stopped. If they are really after illegal drugs, they would go after the big people, the manufacturers, the smugglers, the suppliers. But instead, they go after the victims of these people. So, I have come to the conclusion that this war on illegal drugs is illegal, immoral and anti-poor," said Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Caloocan.

The Philippines has suffered for years from widespread drug abuse, principally shabu, a cheaply produced form of methamphetamine. President Rodrigo Duterte ran for office promising a crackdown on drug use, and since he took office in 2016, rights groups say more than 20,000 people have been killed in extrajudicial killings, mostly carried out by the country's police.

Church leaders have grown increasingly critical of the violence. The country's Catholic bishops conference acknowledged in a Jan. 28 pastoral message that they had been slow in responding as a "culture of violence has gradually prevailed in our land."

The bishops spoke "of mostly poor people being brutally murdered on mere suspicion of being small-time drug users and peddlers, while the big-time smugglers and drug lords went scot-free." While they said they had "no intention of interfering in the conduct of state affairs," they said they had "a solemn duty to defend our flock, especially when they are attacked by wolves."

Duterte has repeatedly slammed the church in response to its criticism, and Bishop David, who also serves as vice president of the bishops' conference, has become the principal target of Duterte's angry outbursts at the church.

In November speech in Davao, Duterte said: "I'm telling you, David. I am puzzled as to why you always go out at night. I suspect, son of a bitch, you are into illegal drugs." At other times, he has accused the bishop of stealing church funds.

Bishop David has not turned the other cheek, instead responding quickly in social media posts: "I think it should be obvious to people by now that our country is being led by a very sick man. We pray for him. We pray for our country," he recently posted on Facebook.

"I think he picks on me because I'm quick in responding to his sound bites," Bishop David told Catholic News Service.

"I have discovered social media. I don't even have to talk to the media, they can follow the sound bites online. So, when he said that addicts are not human, I posted that I beg to disagree. I said no civilized society in this world would agree with him that addicts should be treated as nonhumans. And when he calls them nonhumans, does that mean we can do nothing about them except exterminate them? That's immoral. His statement had to be questioned. The problem is people don't question it, and when he repeats it over and over, it becomes gospel truth."

President Duterte has often referred to drug users as "the living dead" as he justifies his policies.

"I think he has been watching too many zombie movies," said Bishop David. "It is a kind of 'othering,' labeling them so that when they are found dead on the streets, people will be happy and respond, 'Good, that's one criminal less.'"

Bishop David said he is becoming increasingly desperate as he hears cries for help from the urban poor communities in his diocese. He has complained publicly about mass arrests of people without warrants and has criticized police detention without charges of young children who he said are kept in cages for weeks as their parents attempt to have them freed.

"Sometimes I have a feeling that we are back in the Nazi days, when people are somehow aware of what's going on, but they play deaf and dumb because they also like what's happening, because they are persuaded by the sound bites that this is the best way to get rid of criminality. You can get rid of criminality through criminal means? If that's true, then you have created a criminal government," he said.

While his diocese has responded to the crisis by working with some local governments to set up an effective community-based drug rehabilitation program, Bishop David said the war on drugs has pushed the church even further, forcing it closer to the side of poor communities that bear the brunt of arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.

"The war on drugs got me closer to the poor. Maybe that's the blessing of it. It's so easy for bishops and priests to just go through the motions of doing our jobs, jobs that are institutionalized and defined for us. Our parishes are old and tired institutions that cater to church-going people, just the usual people. Our access to the poor is really the big challenge for us," said Bishop David.

Although Sunday Masses at the cathedral parish in Caloocan are standing room only, Bishop David said the church is reaching just a fraction of the people in his diocese. Instead of starting new parishes, which he said is cumbersome, expensive, and takes time, he has opened mission stations in the slums of his diocese, staffing them with religious from around the world.

"We are getting acquainted with the poor because of our mission stations. These are not parishes, but rather the church being present among the poorest of the poor. We have mission partners who I ask to live right there in the slums, among the poorest of the poor, so that the church will be accessible, so that the church will have quicker access to the poor and their needs," he said.

Bishop David said those mission workers keep him directly informed of arrests and killings and have even witnessed extrajudicial executions. They also frequently appeal to the bishop to intercede with officials on behalf of detained children.

"Our mission stations are like new wine bursting the old wineskins," he said. "Pope Francis keeps talking about going to the periphery, and this is the perfect opportunity. A mission station is a church without a church building, without a chapel. I send missionaries to live with them and they do community organizing and set up basic ecclesial communities. The sense of community is going down here in the city. There is no common ethnicity nor common language nor common origin. All of these people have migrated from the different provinces, and so they are strangers to each other. Who will build them into a community? They are very transient, they come and go, looking for where they can find jobs. Our role is to build community among them."

MANILA, Philippines – Catholic bishops in the Philippines broke what they described as their "collective silence" over "many disturbing issues" that have confronted the country in recent months.

In a pastoral statement issued at the end of their meeting in Manila Jan. 28, the bishops asked forgiveness from the faithful "for the length of time that it took us to find our collective voice," reported ucanews.com.

In the statement "Conquering Evil With Good," the bishops admitted they have observed how the "culture of violence has gradually prevailed in our land."

They said the Jan. 27 bombing of the cathedral in Jolo was "further evidence to the cycle of hate that is destroying the moral fabric of our country."

The prelates also said "cruel words" aimed at church leaders "pierce into the soul of the Catholic Church like sharp daggers."

Since his election in 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly attacked Catholic leaders, even questioning church teachings and calling God "stupid."

In recent weeks, the president urged people to either rob or kill bishops.

"We have silently noted these painful instances with deep sorrow and prayed over them," read the bishops' statement.

They said they took their cue from Pope Francis, "who tells us that in some instances the best response is silence and prayer."

The bishops said they respect the "freedom of conscience and religion" of people, including Catholics who may have already renounced their faith.

The church leaders, however, said "freedom of expression does not include a license to insult other people's faith, especially our core beliefs."

The bishops admitted that when people do not understand the doctrines of the church, "we have also ourselves to blame. ... Perhaps we have not been effective enough in our catechesis about the faith?"

"Like the leaders and members of any other human institution, no doubt, we, your bishops and priests, have our own share of failures and shortcomings as well."

They said some sectors have warned church leaders against issuing statements critical of the government's fight against illegal drugs. But the bishops said they are not against the government's efforts.

"We have long acknowledged that illegal drugs are a menace to society," they said. They only began wondering about the direction of Duterte's drug war when it was only poor people reportedly linked to the illegal drug trade who were killed.

"As bishops, we have no intention of interfering in the conduct of state affairs, but neither do we intend to abdicate our sacred mandate as shepherds to whom the Lord has entrusted his flock," they said.

"No amount of intimidation or even threat to our lives will make us give up our prophetic role, especially that of giving voice to the voiceless."

The bishops then urged the faithful to "be sober and alert" despite the threats.

"As members of God's flock, we must learn to be brave, to stick together and look after one another," they said.

"Let this moment be a time to pray, to be strong, wise and committed. Let this be also a teaching moment for us all, a moment for relearning the core beliefs, principles and values of our faith, and what it means to be a Catholic Christian at this time," read the statement.